Primary Insurance Amount · Also called: benefit at full retirement age
The monthly Social Security benefit you receive if you claim exactly at your full retirement age. Every other Social Security amount is a percentage of it.
SSA computes the PIA from your AIME with a three-bracket formula: 90% of AIME up to the first bend point, 32% between the two bend points, and 15% above the second. The bend points used are the ones in effect for the year you turn 62, and cost-of-living adjustments are added from 62 onward.
Claiming before full retirement age pays less than the PIA; claiming later pays more. Spousal and survivor benefits are also calculated from the worker's PIA.